As is generally well known, a vast majority of industrial mechanically operated cranes installed on off-shore platforms require greater than desired repair and maintenance effort and, subsequently, a greater life cycle cost associated therewith. The repair and maintenance costs increase with the increase in crane age and use. Of a particular concern are pedestal-type cranes Link Belt Models 218 and 238 which include a pedestal secured to an off-shore platform, a turntable attached to the pedestal, a main frame rotatably attached to the turntable, a boom pivotally mounted on the main frame and having cables and hooks suspended therefrom, a winch frame secured to the main frame and having a pair of side members and a operator cab secured to the main frame and a trio of mechanically operated winches mounted within the winch frame each connected to a respective cable.
Furthermore, it is also generally known that such mechanically operated cranes pose numeral safety hazards to operating personnel.
Prior to the conception and design of the present invention these mechanically operated pedestal-type cranes were being retrofitted in their entirety with a new type of cranes having hydraulically operated winches and turntable mechanism. While such hydraulically operated cranes increase performance efficiency and reduce maintenance costs, the overall retrofit (replacement) costs, which are predominantly influenced by the cost of the new crane, impact the profitability of the many off-shore platforms and cannot be easily absorbed by the owners of such platforms.
Therefore, there is a need to improve performance of existing pedestal-type cranes installed on off-shore platforms while minimizing the overall retrofit costs.